MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Google (GOOG) has delayed for up to a year construction of a massive campus at the NASA-Ames research center in Mountain View, apparently because the tech titan seeks to improve the design of the complex.

Google's Bay View complex, a short distance from the company's headquarters in Mountain View, would consist of 1 million square feet of new offices.

But work on the new campus will be delayed by six to 12 months, according to sources familiar with the company's plans. Google would not confirm the length of the delay but acknowledged that construction has been put on hold for the time being. Google had previously said it planned to occupy the campus by 2015.

"We want to make our Bay View campus a terrific and environmentally sustainable place for Googlers to work," said Katelin Jabbari, a spokeswoman for the technology firm. "To make sure we get it right, we're being thoughtful in our design process."

An estimated 3,500 to 5,000 people are expected to work at the campus on the leased NASA grounds, where Google intends to build the offices.

Mountain View City Manager Dan Rich said Google informed the city about the delay early this month.

"Google wants to refine the architectural design," Rich said. "They want to get it right. I was a little surprised when they told me, but they decided to take a step back."

The Bay View campus is a short distance from -- although not adjacent to -- the main headquarters complex of Google.

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One area of controversy involving the massive new project is the placement and configuration of a bridge over Stevens Creek that would connect the headquarters and the new campus at NASA. But the bridge has nothing to do with the delay, according to city officials.

"The delay has to do with the actual design of the project, the look and the exterior of the buildings," Rich said.

However long the delay, it does not seem to mark any sort of retrenchment for Google, or signal that Google intends to scrap the project altogether. The company is on the hunt for even more office space beyond what it has leased or bought recently in Mountain View and Sunnyvale.

Palo Alto's East Meadow Circle area, where several large office buildings are located, is one site where Google has been looking. And the company's Google Glass unit has considered numerous properties in the vicinity, including the San Antonio Station complex near Central Expressway and San Antonio Road.

"Google is still in major growth mode," said Jim Beeger, a senior vice president with Colliers International, a commercial realty firm.

Staff reporter Brandon Bailey contributed to this report. Contact George Avalos at 408-373-3556 or 925-977-8477. Follow him at Twitter.com/george_avalos.